I’d like to thank Bam for asking me to appear as a guest blogger. First off, I guess I’d better introduce myself. I’m Rae Morgan and I am an author for Atlantic Bridge/Liquid Silver Books and the Senior Editor for an urban fantasy world called the Terran Realm, also at Liquid Silver Books.

As with most of my book ideas, it started with a string of unrelated thoughts roiling around in my fertile brain. The Gaia concept. Evolution. Underlying connections between myths and cultures that lie continents apart. Archeological findings that demonstrated that the New World had been visited by the Old World long before Columbus. And a bunch of other interesting and seemingly unrelated things that really aren’t … unrelated, that is. Or, at least in my head they weren’t.

As authors often do, I started with the question “what if” these ideas all could be related and came up with the Terrans, a species as long-lived as humans that had split off somewhere on the evolutionary tree and along the way developed the abilities to control the elements of air, earth, water, fire and spirit.

The Terrans being more advanced than their human brethren had traveled the world, leaving behind evidence of their advanced (for the times) civilizations. They were the Mayan, the Mississippians, the residents of the lost continent of AtlantaAtlantis, the Anazasi, and the like. As humans gained in population, the Terrans either assimilated or went underground. Humans tend to kill what they fear – – and the unusual abilities of the Terrans were a magnet for the superstitious and the intolerant.

From that basic beginning, I then added a tinge of the Gaia theory, the Earth is a living organism that needs to be kept in balance in order to support the species living on it, and made the Terrans the keepers and protectors of that balance. For conflict, I added in the concepts of good and evil, for just as humans, the Terrans have both a light and a dark side. In the past, they were worshiped (and feared) by humans as gods and goddesses, and as we all can recall from reading mythology, not all gods and goddesses were good and cared about the elements under their control. In modern times, the bad Terrans are named Destroyers, a power and money hungry bunch who love chaos. It the job of the Keepers of the elements and the Terrans who protect those Keepers to keep the Destroyers in line and minimize the damage they do.

My original concept called for a series of books on the special Keepers of the elements, the Talisman. But after talking with my publisher Raven Moore, we decided to expand the world and invite other authors to write books about any aspect of the Terran Realm that interested them. At this point, it gets complicated since the shared universe would have to be outlined and added to as authors wrote books. It’s my job to oversee the world and make sure that the books stay true to the Terran protocols. I’ve been very lucky to have three authors from Liquid Silver Books who bought into my vision and wrote four fabulous books.

Keira Ramsay started the series off with Redemption in February, 2007. Her story set in 1989 features a Terran Protector Donovan Callahan who sees that the Terrans have sat down on their job of protecting the Earth and the species that live upon it. He travels to Boston to find the Warden of the Book of Sorhineth, the sacred book of the Terrans that contains their history, their magick and their prophecies. The reappearance of the Book is the catalyst that is needed to get the “good” Terrans back on track, but it also widens the gap between them and the more corrupt Terrans. Of course as with all Liquid Silver Books there is a romance, and Donovan falls in love with Warden Brenna Kennedy.The second book by Bonnie Dee, Measure of a Man, finds Spirit Keeper Mira Kashi on the run from the Destroyer Raymond Brody. In her keeping is a box that contains something that the Destroyers want very badly– and anything that they want can’t be good for the world at large. She gets help in escaping her pursuers from human con artist Ian Black. As they are chased across the country, Ian finds his attraction for Mira has him acting totally out of character and almost like a hero.

The third book, Troubled Waters by Tiffany Aaron, brings a clan of shape shifters into the Terran world. Clan Najwa is a shifter clan that, unlike other more isolated clans, interacts with the other intelligent species of the world. Iman is sent by KOTE, the Keepers of the Environment, the corporate front for the Terrans, to investigate some unusual activity in the British Virgin Islands. Brian Rasmussen runs a charter fishing business and has far too much luck in finding the best fishing spots. KOTE suspects he might be part-Terran and they wish to bring him into the group and train him to use his abilities for the good of man and Terran as a whole. During her investigation of Brian, Iman is also to check out the rumors of illegal dumping off the islands. Of course, Destroyers are involved, and Iman and Brian team up to forestall their evil machinations.

The fourth book is Fruits of Betrayal by Bonnie Dee. This book picks up where Measure of a Man leaves off and follows the Protector Justin Foster as he tries to break away from the Brody’s, the Destroyers who have a hold over him and have him betraying KOTE. His nemesis and the woman he is in lust with, Elyse Greenwood, holds the key to his salvation or his complete downfall.

There you have it, four very different books based on the same underlying concept. I love it when a plan comes together. As for the future, well, I am working on the first Talisman book, Earth Awakened, which I hope to have completed for a Fall 2007 publication date. After that, who knows – the only limits are an author’s imagination and the shared universe protocols that are listed on the Terran Realm website.

Thanks to Bam for letting me share the Terran Realm with you. There will be a scavenger hunt posted for all interested readers. The answers are all on the Terran Realm web site listed above. And, yes, there will be prizes!

Howdy Rae,
I would’ve checked in yesterday but was off the internet all day (and having the shakes because of it!) Great overview of TR. Hope everyone joins in the scavenger hunt to explore the gorgeous site you and April created.
My post should be popping up here later today. I’m talking about anti-heroes, a subject near and dear to my heart.